German Puma plans to cut 500 jobs, writes Bild

The German company Puma intends to cut 500 jobs as part of an "efficiency improvement" program, the Bild newspaper reports, citing its representative.

"The manufacturer of sporting goods from (the Bavarian city of) Herzogenaurach plans to cut 500 jobs, 150 of them in Germany," the newspaper writes.

It is reported that the cuts are planned to be implemented as part of the company's "efficiency improvement" program, for which 75 million euros have been allocated. However, the manufacturer does not plan to lay off employees in order to achieve staff reductions.

"We do not expect layoffs due to industrial necessity. Instead, we will not fill some of the open vacancies, we will take advantage of the natural staff turnover and offer a voluntary redundancy program in the next few weeks," a company representative told Bild.

Puma SE is a large German company that specializes in the production of sports shoes, clothing and equipment under the Puma trademark. The company employs about 22,000 people worldwide.